Crowley Maritime and Eagle LNG Partners start construction of LNG bunker facility at Port of Jacksonville
Crowley Maritime Corp. and Eagle LNG Partners recently began construction of a new shore-side, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on Crowley-leased property at JAXPORT’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal in Jacksonville. The LNG bunker fueling facility will serve Crowley’s new Commitment Class, LNG-powered, combination container/Roll-on Roll-off (ConRo) ships, which are under construction for use in the U.S. Mainland-Puerto Rico trade.
Within the month, Chart Industries is expected to deliver two of its new, 1-million liter Decinske Giant cryogenic tanks for LNG storage at the site. Including the Jacksonville project, Crowley is investing more than $550 million in the two new, innovative ships, along with a new 900-foot pier, three new gantry cranes and a multitude of improvements at its Isla Grande terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Crowley’s LNG and logistics groups are supporting construction of the Jacksonville facility by providing engineering expertise and transportation solutions for the equipment at the site. The facility will serve as the fueling station for the LNG-powered ships.
Weighing 260 tons, each cryogenic storage tank holds enough LNG to cover an average family’s electricity demand for 1,000 years.
LNG is a stable gas that is neither toxic nor corrosive and is lighter than air. It is the cleanest fossil fuel available, netting a 100-percent reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter (PM), and a 92-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx). LNG also has the ability to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, as compared with conventional fossil fuels.
The ConRo ships will begin service in the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018. The ships, which are some of the world’s first to be powered by LNG, are designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots and carry containers ranging in size from 20-foot standard to 53-foot-long, 102-inch-wide, high-capacity units, along with hundreds of vehicles in enclosed, weather-tight car decking.